Sloppy Moes
Posted on October 14, 2007 - Filed Under Food, Kitchen Gadgets, Low Fat, Non-Genetically Modified, Seitan, Soy Free, Vegan, Vegetarian, Wheat Gluten
Okay, blog readers - I’ve had about enough seriousness for one weekend. I kept that serious post up about as long as I could take it only because it was for a good cause. I thank you all for the wonderful comments and support I received. If you didn’t comment I certainly understand - it’s always hard to know what to say. But I certainly hope I didn’t scare any of you away. That was the reason I didn’t talk about it in the first place! Now I’ve got to break things up a little but so I don’t shock you I’ll start with simple steps. What better way to work my way back into your hearts than with food right? We all love it and we all eat it. Here you go - it’s my new cold weather favorite!
It might look like an ordinary Sloppy Joe but it isn’t. Nuh-uh. Sneaky, sneaky. It’s vegetarian AND vegan. It’s made with ground wheat gluten (seitan) and black beans instead of ground meat. We just used one of those powdered mix envelopes (after checking the ingredients) for the Sloppy Joe flavoring. Put it on a homemade whole wheat bun and serve with steamed but still crisp veggies and there you have a delicious, easy, meal to please anyone. This was probably the best way I’ve had ground wheat gluten so far. And it was all TGH’s idea. I married a smart man. 
Here’s what the filling looks like up close.
And, by the way, I love that wooden spoon/spatula thing. It is one of my favorite simple kitchen tools. 
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15 Responses to “Sloppy Moes”
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You certainly haven’t scared me away! If anything, your last post endeared you to me even more.
As for the Sloppy Moes, they look like a great winter comfort food! I would probably prefer them with meat (I’m sooooo not a vegetarian!!) but the sauce looks yummy!
You are so sweet Hannah - thanks for that. You made my night. And no matter what you eat - meat or veggie, you’ll always be one of the nicest people I “know.”
So, where did Joe go?
LOL. I sent him away just for this dish and used his vegan brother Moe as a substitute!
Now I am getting hungry.. and there’s two hours to wait till lunch!
Would it be offensive to vegans and vegetarians if I posted a meat dish on my blog? Cos you can make it without the meat, too..
Cheers,
Snoskred
http://www.snoskred.org
Welcome Snoskred! I hope I understood the question - feel free to correct me if you think I got it wrong, but I’ve re-read it and now I think I’ve got it! By Jove! LOL.
Sloppy Joe and his vegan brother Moe are both delicious! Post away - I’d love to see your recipe no matter how you do it!
I can’t speak for everyone, but as far as the vegans and vegetarians who visit MY site - they are the nicest people and they don’t hold it against me that I’m only VAGUELY a vegetarian so if you are fortunate enough to have readers as awesome as mine who aren’t snobby and don’t take offense easily then they certainly wouldn’t be offended by you posting a meat dish recipe. I also think some of my vegan friends find it a fun challenge to “veganize” meat dishes on their own. And to be honest, if someone got offended because you don’t eat the way they choose to eat then do you really need them coming to your site? Who needs that additional stress when we all have so much to deal with as it is?
Mmmm, this is looking mightly fine. I once had chili that I swore had meat in it but it was vegan. I always wondered how that was possible but now you have unlocked the secret!
Thanks:-)
Yup - that’s why they don’t call me the great Swami for nothing. Oh wait, nobody calls me that. heh.
The carrots look mighty fine.
Sorry, gots to have meat in the Joe’s.
And black beans scare me. . just like any other kinda bean.
Hey - I still love you even though you are afraid of Moes and a couple of legumes. As long as you keep on eating, that is fine with me!
Oh! And I added some art to a new blog of mine. All yall’s encouragement helped a great deal, and now it’s out there for all to see .. the site is on my blogroll, but I havent mentioned it to anyone but you.
I wonder if anyone will notice *eek!*
**Grabs coat and RUNS to see new artwork!**
You had posted this earlier right and then put it into draft. I saw it when I was on technorati yesterday morning. I came over here and it was no where to be found. I said to myself “Ms. Teeni” is saving this one for later.
I like it. My daughter really likes this dish. I don’t make mine with seiten I usually use portobello.
@snokesred,
I agree with teeni I really don’t see why people would be offended with your food choices.
I can veganize most recipes I see. A lot of cooking blogs I visit aren’t vegan.
My friends are shocked that my dishes don’t contain meat. I had one friend rave how succulent one f my burgers was only to be told that it was all vegan. He swore up and down it wasn’t and it also made him realize that thinking he needed meat in everything was all in head, lol.
You caught me, Opal - I actually had hit the publish button when I really meant to hit the save button! Kami caught me also! You two have eagle eyes! LOL. OOooh - I would love to try this with portobello mushrooms also! I love those. Unfortunately my husband won’t eat a mushroom (unless I’ve hidden it somehow) so I make it without. But I bet I could get some in there without him knowing since this is all ground up. Okay, let’s not say any more about it here because sometimes he reads my comments. Eeep.
this looks yummy!!
Thanks, Calamity - it really was my favorite way of eating wheat gluten and it was hard to tell it from the real thing, which to me, is a good thing, especially if someone is trying to eat less meat in their diet.
do you make your own seitan?? as far as being a vaguetarian, i still think it is great. if you cut down your meat consumption by half each week you are still doing loads for your health, the environment, animals, and other humans. i keep meaning to make a Sloppy Moe. They look really good
Oh, and thanks for the encouraging words!!
Hi Ariell - I do make my own seitan with a box of vital wheat gluten. I have tried making it all the way from scratch using just flour and washing away the bran and starch but that was way too much work when they sell boxes of it with that part already done. Also when I make it I make a roast out of it rather than simmering it (which is why I will sometimes refer to it as wheat gluten instead of the traditional “seitan” which is simmered). Anyway, once the roast is cooked, I let it cool and grind it up using my kitchenaid attachment but it can also be done with a grater by hand. Then I freeze it - it really resembles hamburger but defrosts much quicker than meat and you can use it anywhere someone else would use hamburger. I actually thought of you when I posted this and wondered if you’d like it because you seemed to like the American Chop Suey I did with it.
I have had vegetarian chili it is is really good. I think I will work on my own recipe and try it on my husband. Throw a bit of cilantro in it.
That is where my hubby shines - he has been so supportive of me since my diagnosis and the man who wouldn’t eat vegetables now eats everything but broccoli and mushrooms! And he makes a way better vegetarian chili than I ever could. Cilantro would definitely add a new kick to these sloppy moes as well - it might actually turn them into chili - the beans are already there! LOL
I know you are talking Joe’s but you can throw the chili in a corn tortilla. I am kinda off topic. Oops.
btw ( I am comment happy for some reason)…your spoon/spatula is either a spootula or a spatoon. Sorry about that one.
I have one of those and they are one of my fave too.
YAY! I’m glad that you got comment happy on my site!!! LOL about the name of my tool - I love spootula! It is fun to say!! Oh and To me, chili, sloppy joes, tacos - those are all the same kind of food group to me since the ground meat/bean thing can be common to all of them. So I know exactly where you are coming from!
Looks delicious! And thanks for the birthday greeting!
Anytime, my friend, anytime!
i will have to try making my own seitan. i have had it in roast form before and i liked it. our local health food store sells vital wheat gluten in bulk so i think it would be pretty cheap to make (about $1 a pound). probably better for you then some processed fake meat and cheaper!
thanks for the suggestions
No problem, Ariell! I think you will find lots of ways to work with this stuff. I’m going to email you a recipe that I’ve shared with a couple of people already. It’ll help you in figuring out how to season the roast to your tastes. That was my hardest part in dealing with seitan - seasoning it so that it tasted right. And I do believe you are correct - it’s definitely cheaper than real meat AND fake meat! Plus it’s low in fat but does have protein!
I like what Hannah said that your last post endeared you to her even more. I’m sure that’s how alot of people feel as well.
Those sloppy joes look so good, definately a cool/cold weather favorite. I look forward to making them, when i get those ingredients!
That’s why I love Hannah! She has been sweet to me from day 1 when I “met” her, just like you have Heather. Hannah is as talented with words as she is with scrapbooking. I do hope people feel that way because I sure as heck feel attachments to my readers and fellow bloggers. It may not be tangible but it sure as heck is REAL!
I think you’ll like it - especially with the black beans - it’s hard to tell meat is missing in the dish and the sloppy joe seasoning really works well with it. Also, I forgot to tell you that if you grind up your roast like I do into what resembles hamburger - you can freeze it for up to six months or so and it defrosts way quicker than real meat would. Oh, you can also just heat a little canola or olive oil in a pan, add some ground wheat gluten roast and a splash of liquid smoke. You end up with fake bacon bits that are incredibly realistic. I make about a 1/4 cup of these and keep them in the fridge for a couple weeks in a sealed container and throw them on baked potatoes. Um, I guess I should do another post on this soon instead of spewing all over my comments area! LOL.